Lemon Cream Pie Recipes

GRAMMY'S LEMON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust according to my Darn Good Whole Wheat Pie Crust recipe, either halving the recipe (it yields enough for 2 crusts) or freezing the second crust for a later time. (I recommend making the recipe as written and freezing the second crust. It will be great to have on hand and you are going to the effort anyway, so you might as well enjoy twice the crust!)
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the pie crust, then fit into a 9-inch wide pie plate that is 1 1/2 to 2-inches deep. Trim any overhang, then crimp the crust edges as desired. Line the crust with aluminum foil or parchment paper so that the foil/paper comes all the way up the sides of the dish and fits against the sides and bottom snugly. Fill the dish with dried beans or pie weights. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the edges are barely beginning to turn golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the foil/paper and weights, then return the crust to the oven and continue baking until the bottom looks dry and lightly golden and the edges have browned, about 5 to 8 additional minutes. The bottom of the crust will puff a little as it bakes, but it will deflate again once removed from the oven. Let cool completely.
• Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water to create a double boiler. Add the eggs into the bowl, then with a hand mixer on medium speed (or a whisk and some serious arm power), beat the eggs until thick and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes if using a mixer. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, then the lemon juice and lemon zest. Once incorporated, switch from a mixer (or whisk) to a rubber spatula. Continue to cook the mixture over the simmering water, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the bowl with your spatula, until it forms a thick, smooth custard, about 8 additional minutes. When you dip your spatula into the custard, the custard should easily coat the spatula's back, and if you draw a line through the custard on the back of the spatula with your finger, the sides of the custard should stay separated. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool to almost room temperature.
• In a large mixing bowl or a standing mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until it is completely soft and smooth, about 3 full minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, then gradually add the cooled lemon custard to the cream cheese, beating until smooth and fully combined so that no white streaks remain. Pour the cream cheese into the baked pastry shell. Refrigerate the pie until fully chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Up to 4 hours before serving, prepare the homemade whipped cream: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment over medium speed. When it starts to thicken, add the powdered sugar and vanilla, increase the mixer speed to high, and continue to beat until soft peaks form. (Do not overbeat or the cream will separate.) Spread over the chilled pie, slice, and serve cold.

LUSCIOUS LEMON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. Make pie crust as directed on box for One-Crust Baked Shell using 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• In medium bowl, mix condensed milk, lemon peel and lemon juice; set aside. In large bowl, beat 2 cups of the whipping cream and the food color with electric mixer on high speed until stiff.
• Fold lemon mixture into whipped cream just until blended. Spoon into crust. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours until set.
• In medium bowl, beat remaining 1 cup whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Spoon dollops on pie or slices of pie when serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

CREAMY LEMON PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and almonds together into crumbs. A few larger pieces of nuts is OK. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom "corner" where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust⁠-this helps prevent the crust from falling apart. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
• Pre-bake crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the oven on.
• Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks together. Pour into warm crust.
• Bake the pie for 19-21 minutes or until only *slightly* jiggly in the center. You want it mostly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and chill for at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before serving.
• Garnish as desired. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

GRANDMA'S LUSCIOUS LEMON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
• Stir a small amount of hot filling into the egg yolks; return all to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter and lemon zest. Gently stir in lemon juice. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Beat cream in a chilled glass or metal bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
• Fold whipped cream and sour cream into the lemon filling. Pour into the prepared pastry shell. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.